Back in the fall of 2014, San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York dug into his pocket book and made $70,000 in contributions to the political action committee of the California Apartment Association.

Within a month of York’s contributions, the apartment association’s PAC made almost $50,000 in independent expenditures on behalf of Santa Clara City Council candidates Dominic Caserta and Patrick Kolstad and mayoral incumbent Jamie Matthews. The trio, considered sympathetic to the Niners, won their races.

Two years later, a scenario is unfolding that again could involve the 49ers and Santa Clara elections — but this time with a different middleman.

More than a dozen Santa Clara residents are running for four seats on the 7-member City Council this November. But one candidate is already raising some eyebrows.

Ahmad Rafah, the former deputy communications director and business/tech policy advisor to Congressman Mike Honda, stunned some political insiders by throwing his name into the hat. Some speculated that Rafah is part of a bigger plan — fueled by business interests and possibly the San Francisco 49ers — to overthrow the council majority led by Mayor Lisa Gillmor.